Hydraulic power transmission.



6. CONSTANTINESCO. IIYIIIzAuLIc Powen TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21. |914.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEETI FigZ.

t l, 8 P010-VV Nni .../lf//// INIIENroII vIIITIIESSES G. CONSTANTINESCO.

HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION.

APPLlcnmN mso ma. 27. 1914;

1,'21 1,679. Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTIIRM G. CONSTANTINESCO.

HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION.

APPucArloN msu ria. 2. 19|4.

1,21 1,679. Patented Jan. 9,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A'ITNESSES r INVENTORWJ M ,17, Y Md am W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GOG'U CONSTANTINESCO, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WALTER HADDON, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

Application led February 27, 1914. Serial No. 821,376.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, GoGU CoNsTANTrNnsCo, a subject of the King of Roumania, and residing at 8 Lichfield-road, Kew Gardens, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Hydraulic Power Transmission, of which the following is a specification.

The present inventio-n relates to the transmission of energy by hydraulic means.

The invention consists in means for transmitting continuous rotary motion between two points, and reversing such motion by means of a number of columns of fluid having an alternating or sinusoidal motion.

The invention consists more specifically in means for converting in a suitable generator mechanical energy in the form of rotary motion at one place into periodic toand-ro motion of a number of columns of fluid contained in suitable conduits, conducting said columns to a suitable receiver and re-converting the periodic to-and-fro motion into rotary motion in either direction. I

The invention also consists in reversing the rotary motion in a hydraulic transmission apparatus having three or more phases, by interchanging the communications between the working columns of liquid and the several cylinders of the receiver or generator.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure l is a transverse section; Fig. 2 a sectional plan; Fig. 3 a side view; and Fig. 4 a plan, of one form of generator according to the invention. Fig. 5 is a section on the line A-A, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the generator and receiver and their connections. Fig. 7 is a cross section, and Fig. 8 a longitudinal section of a suitable reversing valve.

In the form of the invention illustrated there are provided three pipes leading from the generator to the receiver, these pipes communicatin with the apertures a, b, c, respectively. hese apertures lead into piston chambers a', b', o', each of which is provided with three pistons p', p2, p, arranged radially as shown in Fig. The pistons are operated by means of an eccentric d, operating through a. ball bearing on the inner ends of the piston-s. The eccentric is mounted on the driving shaft e driven by the pulley f. The spaces communicating with the apertures a, b and 0 are filled with liquid,`and the istons may be kept up against the eccentrlc by means of springs. The receiver may be similarly constructed. The fluid used in the pipes in the above described transmission system may be any suitable liquid medium.

It will be seen that in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the displacement of liquid in any one chamber will be that due to the sum of the displacement of the three pistons which work in that chamber, giving a more uniform sinusoidal motion than would be obtained if only one piston were used in each chamber.

It will be understood that the phenomena connected with the system of transmission above described are closely analogous to the phenomena connected with alternating electric currents. Consequently it is found that for transmitting power over great distances, it is desirable that high pressure and short period be `employed in order that the amount of liquid in motion may be small and the size of the pipes also small, the frequency and pressure for long distance transmission being so chosen that the weight of the connecting pipes shall be a minimum. For instance, with a three-cylinder generator and motor making 3000 revolutions per minute, the frequency will be 50 pulsations per second. It is thus possible, with a very small and simple apparatus, to transmit considerable driving couple over a long listance synchronously and without great oss.

The present system of transmission has an important practical advantage over electrical transmission in that it may be employed for extremely low speeds of rotation. It is particularly applicable for transmitting power to machines in workshops from prime movers, to the propeller shafts of ships, and in general in all situations where synchronism is important.

In order to reverse a three-phase arrangement such as that above described, it is only necessary to interchange the connections of two of the pipes, the change being made when the piston in communication with the other pipe is at its dead center, and this method of reversal is applicable to reversal in systems having more than three ipes, by a suitable change of connections. ny suitable switch, such as interconnected threeway cocks operated by a single lever movement may be provided for this purpose.

The generator 1 and receiver 2, with their connecting pipes 3, 4, 5, are diagrammatically illustrated at Fi 6, the reversal of motion of the receiver eing effected by interchanging the connections of the pipes 4 and 5 with the generator, by the change over cock 6, which may be of any suitablelmown type.

A suitable type of valve for effecting the reversal is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. This comprises a plug 7 fitting into a block (i, and provided with two passages, one adapted to connect the pipe 4 either with the pipe 4EL or the pipe 5, and the other adapted to connect the pipe 5 either with pipe 5 or the pipe 4a. This valve is diagrammatically shown in Fig. (i. When it is desired to reverse the direction of motion, the valve is changed over, so as to interchange theA connections of the pipes 4 and 5 with the generator, this being effected at the moment when the piston 1n the chamber of the generator connected with the pipe 3 is at its dead center, so that there will be no resistance to the reversal of the motion by the piston in the chamber connected with the pipe 3.

It will be seen from Figs. (i, 7 and 8 that when the cock 7 is in the position shown in the full lines in Fig. 7 the pipe 4 is connected to the pipe 4" and the pipe 5 is connected to the pipe 5. Assume that the rotation of both generator and receiver in this case is in the direction of the hands of the clock, We shall then have the pistons of the three cylinders dili'ering in phase angle by 120 degrees. Assume now that the pistons connected to the pipe 3 are at the end of their stroke, then the pistons connected to the pipes 4 and 5 will be symmetrically7 placed as regards their position in the stroke but will be moving in opposite directions, one moving in and the other ont. If then the current on these pistons be reversed by changing over the switch to the dotted position (Fig. 7) the motion of the two pistons will be reversed so that the rotating field produced by the three pistons will be changed in direction and reverse rotation will occur.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is Apparatus for hydraulic transmission of energy, comprising in combination, a generator, a plurality of chambers in said generator, pistons in each of said chambers, a, common eccentric actuating said pistons, a receiver, including a plurality of chambers, pistons in said chambers, and a common eccentric acted on by said pistons, pipes connecting each of said chambers in said generator with one of said chambers of said rcceiver, and means `for interchanging the connections of said pipes and said receiver or generator in such a manner as to produce reverse rotation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 'name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GOGU CONSTANTINESCO.

Witnesses:

BERTRAM H. MA'x'rnEws, WALTER J. SKERTEN. 

